Foreign Funding Falls Behind Soaring Costs

A new Congressional report details the rising costs of keeping massive US bases overseas at a time when the Pentagon is looking to reduce its footprint in many of those countries, revealing a $10 billion annual cost just for the bases, and the bulk of that coming in Germany, Japan and South Korea.

Congressmen are expressing considerable annoyance that the host nations stuck with the bases, who are expected to “contribute” to their upkeep, are seeing their contributions lagging behind the ever-soaring US expenses. They say more contributions should be made since some of these bases may conceivably eventually be given back to those nations some day.

Yet the utility of these bases is also lagging, with Germany’s role as the front-line in the Cold War over for decades, and Japanese officials openly calling for the US to leave, even as the US pushes them to cough up more and more for those bases.

The $10 billion is a drop in the bucket for the Pentagon’s enormous budget, yet only reflects the costs of physically keeping the bases there, not the costs of keeping them staffed. This is also a source of considerable waste, with the Pentagon spending $200,000 in Germany just to buy “sunrooms” for high-ranking officers deployed there.

The expenses in Germany are particularly unwise, as the Pentagon has openly talked about reducing military presence there for years, since the troops aren’t really do much there anymore anyhow.

386428 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fnews.antiwar.com%2F2013%2F04%2F17%2Freport-cost-of-overseas-us-bases-soaring-as-usefulness-lags%2FReport%3A+Cost+of+Overseas+US+Bases+Soaring+as+Usefulness+Lags2013-04-18+02%3A01%3A10Jason+Ditzhttp%3A%2F%2Fnews.antiwar.com%2F%3Fp%3D38642 to “Report: Cost of Overseas US Bases Soaring as Usefulness Lags”

The last time I checked, Germany, Japan and South Korea all had their own armies. World War II ended in 1945, the Korean armistice was signed in 1953 and the Cold War ended in 1989. Someone forgot to tell Washington.

Of course it is expensive to maintain more than 900 military bases in some 150 countries around the world…..can't play "cheap Charly" when pretending to be a World Empire. But not to worry, the CREDIT CARD will take care of the cost !

1000+ military bases in 151 nations…When is overkill enough? So the usa has an unfunded liability debt of 121 trillion…chicken feed…So corporations pay 6% of federal income when it was almost 50% in 1956…shhh..it's all a magic show folks…

There are 12 US bases in England including NSA Menwith Hill which are occupied and controlled by the US military and their Agencies which must cost a fortune. We wondered if there was a reason as to why the UK was not included in the article given the historical (and unacceptable and misguided!!) 'special relationship' the UK has with the US. Is it not so that friends should gently and wisely advise their friends if they disapprove of things they do not agree with (Afghanistan and Iraq immediately spring to mind). Whatever – all this money to maintain the US military 'empire' is sheer folly.

These overseas bases serve as an attractice inducement for career military people – if the only places that a soldier could be were Ft Hood in Texas or Ft Benning in Georgia, only desperate people would re-up. The ideal military base provides whores and drinking for the enlisted, and travel and culture for the officers and lots of leadership slots for everyone -ask anyone who was ever in the military.